From the “Scratcher” or notebook of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Philetus Fales:
May 29, 1868: “Visited schools in districts 8 and 47. Both schools small. Average attendance about twelve. Miss Ward teacher in 8. Pupils as a matter of course making rapid progress. Miss Critchfield teacher in 47.”
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From “The hitching post…” column in the Ottawa Herald, a series of articles about early Franklin County schools researched by Bruce Fleming and written by Herald Editor and Publisher Jim Hitch. This article appeared 16 August, 1990.
Cargy School was one of the first joint school districts in Franklin County. It was located nine miles north and two west of Pomona, on the northwest corner of the intersection along the Franklin-Douglas County line. The school served Franklin County School District 47 and Douglas County District 52.
The site for the school was secured with a deed drawn May 19, 1886 by Stephen L. Wadsworth. The school was said to have had hand-hewn walnut logs for floor joists. According to “Rural Schools and Schoolhouses of Douglas County,” by Goldie Piper Daniels, the schoolhouse never had a basement or a belfry, and in the early part of this century was heated by a large Round Oak stove. The school served as a community center and a voting precinct.
The last class at Cargy School, in 1953-54, was comprised of four students, Calvin Glover, Ronnie Bloom, Larry and Shirley Rich.
Former pupils still living in Franklin County include Gruver, Florence Lauver, Richard Steel, Joyce (Snyder) Gottschamer, Ivan Snyder, Wilbur Lauver, Violet King, Glen Woods, Jim Wiscombe, Eldon Morgan, Bob Steele Jr., and Bob Steele Sr. The elder Steele, who lives at 521 S. Cedar, said three generations of his family attended Cargy.
Pupil-teacher ratio was not a major consideration in Cargy. In 1895, for example, the one-room school had 42 pupils, all taught by one teacher. Two years later, at a salary of $41 per month, J.C. Wright taught 52 students. The 1913 class had 37 students in eight grades, taught by a single teacher.
On Aug. 17, 1955, the Cargy district was divided and annexed to two other separate districts, 112 in Osage County and 101 in Franklin County.